This year’s NBA playoffs will surely go down as one of the most memorable in recent times. Aside from the different environment the teams will be playing in, every team from both conferences brings something to the table that gives each a series a story we have to watch out for.

This season has been very surprising, aside from the whole shutdown. Multiple teams that were not expected to be really good like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Miami Heat, and Phoenix Suns defied expectations. There are also teams that performed under expectations, like the Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Rockets.

This year’s playoffs will surely be full of surprises. Here are my top three picks for players that will have surprising performances this playoffs.

Top 3 – Michael Porter Jr.

Michael Porter Jr has finally given the chance to showcase what he can do this season and he’s been killing it.

When the NBA restarted, the Denver Nuggets showcased their versatility by playing a different line ups on the floor. Of course, who can forget the all-bigs line-up of Coach Mike Malone with Nikola Jokić playing the point guard position for them.

Another upside that came out of Denver’s experiment is Porter Jr who averaged 22 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting 57.6 percent in the field in the seven games he played in the bubble and was being dubbed as the Rookie of the Bubble.

MPJ made his playoff debut yesterday and put up 13 points, eight rebounds on 38.5 percent shooting in the field and 42.9 percent from three-point distance in 31 minutes of playing time.

Porter Jr’s height and skills as a 6’10-Small Forward gave the Utah Jazz more problems on the perimeter which helped the Nuggets take the 135-125 win in Game 1.

I’m confident that we will see MPJ go off for 30 points multiple times in this series and will be a huge for factor for Denver to have a deep run this playoffs.

Top 2 – Pascal Siakam

The Toronto Raptors are a legitimate threat to win it all this season.

Prior to the start of the season, no one expected the Raptors to be this good since losing Kawhi Leonard. However, head coach Nick Nurse proved that last year’s title win was because how well the TEAM played and not only because of Leonard – even though he was the undisputed superstar of that squad.

 Toronto continued to showcase high-level team play this season and secured the second seed in the standings.

However, no matter how well a team plays together, when it comes to the playoffs, the Raptors would still need a go-to-guy to rely on. A closer and there is no one else on the team that could take that mantle other than Pascal Siakam.

Siakam has been the guy for Toronto this season averaging 22.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists and was awarded by being selected in his first all-star game last February. He’s shown that his massive contract extension was well-warranted, and he’s proved that he learned a lot from his year spent with the Klaw.

Toronto took game one of their first round series against the Brooklyn Nets 134-110. Siakam finished with a double-double 13 points and 11 rebounds. Not the type of a performance for a guy being seen as “the guy” but in his defense, Fred VanVleet took over and dropped 30 points and 11 assists.

The 6’9, Cameroonian Forward was a big reason on why the Raptors took home the title last season. This year’s playoffs, I have high confidence that Siakam will be playing at a higher level after his experience last season and especially in high pressured moments.

The Raptors would still need to play great team-first basketball to make to back to the NBA Finals, but if Siakam could play like a superstar for them, I won’t be surprised if Toronto bags their second title in a row.

Top 1- Luka Dončić

The Dallas Mavericks won’t be getting out of the first-round. I’m sorry Dallas fans, I don’t see your team stopping Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

However, I have a strong feeling that this Mavericks-Clippers first round series will end up as one of the best series in recent memory.

The Leonard and George will do their thing for the Clippers, but Dončić will surely not let the Mavericks go down without a fight.

In his playoff debut yesterday, Dončić made history and dropped 42 points, the most points in a playoff debut! He also had nine assists, seven rebounds and three steals and shot 61.9 percent in the field. That’s just his first game in the playoffs.

I’m expecting Dončić to continue playing at a hall of fame level in this series and extend it to seven games. If there is any chance for Dallas to pull off an upset against the Clippers, it all depends on the Slovenian assassin.

We already expect gaudy stats from him, but he may even surpass all of our expectations.

What’s your thoughts about this piece? Sound off below in the comment section.